Thin Love(50)

“Who is this guy?” he asked her, his head jerking toward Mark who had stepped in front of her.

Keira nodded to Leann at the elevator, telling her with a head jerk to take off and then, she rounded on Kona. “He’s my date and he’s leaving with me.” It took three yanks on his sleeve, but Mark finally followed her, stepping backward to glare at Kona as they made for the elevator. She glanced at his face, eyes narrowed, his mouth drawn down hard, and Keira closed her eyes, said a small prayer that Kona would give up and let them leave.

No such luck.

“Keira, hold up,” Kona said, the harsh tone of his voice changed, softened by his small plea.

“Listen, man, I don’t what your problem is, but you need to back off.” Mark had to look up to glare at Kona and a quick rush of gratitude filled Keira’s chest at her date’s determined expression.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Kona finally glanced at Mark, arms over his chest like he had to force himself to keep his hands still. He nodded to Keira. “I was talking to her.”

Mark’s shoulders straightened and he pulled himself to all of his 6’, but the threatening stance he held and the small scowl curling his mouth didn’t seem to intimate Kona. Keira could taste the crackle of violence on the air, the heavy sense that if she walked away, Kona and Mark’s pissing contest would become a bloody mess.

She liked Mark. He was a nice guy. He was tall and broad, but he didn’t have Kona’s size. He didn’t make strangers take a step away from him when he walked down the street. Kona did, and Keira thought being beaten senseless by a jealous linebacker wouldn’t be Mark’s idea a good first date.

Kona grinned, mouth bunched to the right, an expression that read like a taunt as he tipped his head to the side and watched Mark like he was a kid on a playground. “You got something to say to me, brah?” Mark took a step and Kona met him, that smug, bastard sneer still on his face.

“That’s enough.” Keira wedged herself between them, her back to Mark’s front, and when he slipped his hand on her hip, Kona moved his jaw into a grind. Keira acted quickly, worried that the growing anger seething in Kona’s eyes as he stared at Mark’s hand would only spiral into something she couldn’t control. She pushed Kona’s chest, made him step back and rounded on Mark. “Give me a second, okay?”

His gaze left Kona’s face and some of the anger dimmed from his expression, but he didn’t take his hand off her hip and he kept that defensive bearing in his shoulders. “I don’t like this,” he told her, gaze shifting to Kona. Keira let Mark lead her, as he walked back, holding her fingers. “He your boyfriend or something?”

“No.” She didn’t like how quietly she answered him or how much saying the word bothered her. “There’s… something, but it’s not like that.” She glanced behind her to see Kona leaning on one shoulder, arms folded, against the wall. “He won’t touch me.” She knew that. Whatever Kona was, he’d never be a threat to her and she hoped Mark could see she believed that. “He’s just trying to mark his territory or something. It’s no big deal.”

Mark hesitated, squinted at Kona. “Keira, that guy is a freaking silverback.” Again, he glanced behind her and the frown returned to his face. “Look at him. That isn’t a dude who thinks you’re no big deal.”

Over her shoulder, Keira caught Kona’s glare. Despite how cool, calm he held himself, his eyes were lit with something she’d seen in him before. It was wild and dark and had Keira feeling that stare could break her.

When Mark said it, when a small line formed across his forehead, something shifted in Keira’s mind. She and Kona had skirted around this for weeks now. It was the unspoken current that hissed against her skin when he looked at her. It was that small, still whisper in her subconscious that she pretended she couldn’t hear. It had been there from that first night in her dorm. It was that little burst of energy she felt when she touched his arm as he throttled her attacker. It was the same pull that made her stay with at the hospital; that had her kissing him before she left.

Kona knew it was there, he’d told her as much, but until Mark confirmed it, until someone outside looking in pointed it out, Keira’s blinders stayed firm. Now they had been removed and the heft of what she felt, what Kona incited in her, worked out of her skin like a sweat.

Mark dropped her fingers and the severe pull of his mouth softened, returned to the sweet smile she’d already grown used to. “What’s my play here? Do you want me to duck out so you can have a conversation? Or do I just cut my losses and forget I have your number?” Keira bit her lip and stared at a small curl flattened against Mark’s forehead. When she said nothing, hesitated to slide her gaze back toward Kona, Mark sighed. “I’ll give you a few minutes.”